Grocery delivery service - which is the best, and how un-mustachian is this?

[Villanelle]

Wrecking the environment and the economy to save $10?

Maybe a MMM pass, but an ethical quagmire.

My grocery store isn't bikeable, so I'd have to drive.  So I'm not sure how delivery wrecks the environment any more than picking them up myself.  (And before this gets questioned, the reason we live where we do--and in fact moved from a place where I could walk to most errands--because spouse's job moved and anything else would have been a crazy long commute every day; where we are now is >10 minutes by car. )

[Dicey]

I feel like I have stepped into a parallel universe.

Where the hell am I?

Under most circumstances, this is 100% un-mustachian.

Just curious, did you read the whole thread, or no? A lot of people said grocery delivery didn't make sense to them or they tried it and went back to regular shopping. A lot of the people who did keep delivery explained why: e.g. a baby at home, better prices, and some are MMM regulars who have disabilities.

The place I get delivery from has vastly better prices on many items than the store in my neighborhood. Avocados are $2.99 at the store or $1.19 on delivery. The cheddar cheese I buy is roughly half the price by delivery. Eggs are about $2 cheaper a dozen. Butter is more than $2 cheaper a pound. Frozen broccoli is more than $2 cheaper per bag. Etc. Etc. Yes, I buy food there. If someone thinks that makes me lazy, I don't care.

I used to really enjoy grocery shopping, but with the price gouging and inflation happening lately, I just can't justify that much of a difference.

I feel like I have stepped into a parallel universe.

Where the hell am I?

Under most circumstances, this is 100% un-mustachian.

Shopping for your invalid mother? Have a newborn baby? Recovering from surgery? You get a pass.

Able-bodied mustachian? Facepunch.

Dear Slicey, I see you skipped a most important line when you quoted me, and I wish you hadn't. You know I follow your journal and know that a) NYC has its own unique set of circumstances ("Dark Store - what the hell is that?) and b) getting and doing the most ordinary of things where you live can be a complete pain in the ass and c) how you manage to cover the ground you do with your particular set of circumstances is nothing less than amazing, IMO. Yes, I am totally a fangirl and make no secret of it. HOWEVER...

Every lesson about frugal shopping/feeding a family on a budget begins with figuring out what's on sale and building your menus around that. That's the basic principle that virtually no one mentioned in this thread. It seems that people are making lists of what they want and are ordering that.

The question was "How un-mustachian is this?". I believe that making a list of only the things you want and ordering them is indeed "un-mustachian". 

I buy what's on special and create menus around those items. I also stock up on staples when they are on sale, which is another long held principle of frugality. The grocery stores I shop at do not offer shopping services and I am as likely to pay someone to shop for my able-bodied ass as I am to order a ready-made meal via DoorDash or UberEats.

Everyone is different and there are plenty of folks with extenuating circumstances, but paying for convenience is fairly solidly anti-mustachian, IMO.

[Villanelle]

I feel like I have stepped into a parallel universe.

Where the hell am I?

Under most circumstances, this is 100% un-mustachian.

Just curious, did you read the whole thread, or no? A lot of people said grocery delivery didn't make sense to them or they tried it and went back to regular shopping. A lot of the people who did keep delivery explained why: e.g. a baby at home, better prices, and some are MMM regulars who have disabilities.

The place I get delivery from has vastly better prices on many items than the store in my neighborhood. Avocados are $2.99 at the store or $1.19 on delivery. The cheddar cheese I buy is roughly half the price by delivery. Eggs are about $2 cheaper a dozen. Butter is more than $2 cheaper a pound. Frozen broccoli is more than $2 cheaper per bag. Etc. Etc. Yes, I buy food there. If someone thinks that makes me lazy, I don't care.

I used to really enjoy grocery shopping, but with the price gouging and inflation happening lately, I just can't justify that much of a difference.

I feel like I have stepped into a parallel universe.

Where the hell am I?

Under most circumstances, this is 100% un-mustachian.

Shopping for your invalid mother? Have a newborn baby? Recovering from surgery? You get a pass.

Able-bodied mustachian? Facepunch.

Dear Slicey, I see you skipped a most important line when you quoted me, and I wish you hadn't. You know I follow your journal and know that a) NYC has its own unique set of circumstances ("Dark Store - what the hell is that?) and b) getting and doing the most ordinary of things where you live can be a complete pain in the ass and c) how you manage to cover the ground you do with your particular set of circumstances is nothing less than amazing, IMO. Yes, I am totally a fangirl and make no secret of it. HOWEVER...

Every lesson about frugal shopping/feeding a family on a budget begins with figuring out what's on sale and building your menus around that. That's the basic principle that virtually no one mentioned in this thread. It seems that people are making lists of what they want and are ordering that.

The question was "How un-mustachian is this?". I believe that making a list of only the things you want and ordering them is indeed "un-mustachian". 

I buy what's on special and create menus around those items. I also stock up on staples when they are on sale, which is another long held principle of frugality. The grocery stores I shop at do not offer shopping services and I am as likely to pay someone to shop for my able-bodied ass as I am to order a ready-made meal via DoorDash or UberEats.

Everyone is different and there are plenty of folks with extenuating circumstances, but paying for convenience is fairly solidly anti-mustachian, IMO.

How does shopping online prevent people from buying what's on sale?  Amazon Fresh had beans $.50 off, so I bought extra on my recent order to stock my pantry.  Triscuits were 20% off, so I snagged several boxes and decided to make Triscuit 'pizzas' (really just a fancy name for "random stuff put on a cracker and heated up) for dinner this week. 

It feels like people in this thread have very different experiences with grocery delivery than I do, or maybe my experiences are outside the norm. 

[Dollar Slice]

HOWEVER...

Every lesson about frugal shopping/feeding a family on a budget begins with figuring out what's on sale and building your menus around that. That's the basic principle that virtually no one mentioned in this thread. It seems that people are making lists of what they want and are ordering that.

I'm not sure how other people make lists. Maybe they do it a stupid way, I don't know. But I find it easier to make frugal shopping lists online since I can look at everything in the store before I start shopping or making a list, instead of going through aisles one by one and trying to plan on the fly. They have sales and coupons and they're all listed online, and they're organized by food type so you can look at the meat sales and vegetable sales and fruit sales and so on.

But my point was that a ton of people responding to the thread said they didn't like it and/or were back to in-store shopping; or had a valid excuse. You made the assumption (with no evidence) that the ones who simply answered the question were all able-bodied and lazy. Maybe they just prefer privacy over volunteering irrelevant medical or family details in a thread about groceries.

[Dicey]

HOWEVER...

Every lesson about frugal shopping/feeding a family on a budget begins with figuring out what's on sale and building your menus around that. That's the basic principle that virtually no one mentioned in this thread. It seems that people are making lists of what they want and are ordering that.

I'm not sure how other people make lists. Maybe they do it a stupid way, I don't know. But I find it easier to make frugal shopping lists online since I can look at everything in the store before I start shopping or making a list, instead of going through aisles one by one and trying to plan on the fly. They have sales and coupons and they're all listed online, and they're organized by food type so you can look at the meat sales and vegetable sales and fruit sales and so on.

But my point was that a ton of people responding to the thread said they didn't like it and/or were back to in-store shopping; or had a valid excuse. You made the assumption (with no evidence) that the ones who simply answered the question were all able-bodied and lazy. Maybe they just prefer privacy over volunteering irrelevant medical or family details in a thread about groceries.

I did not "make the assumption (with no evidence)". I wrote a disclaimer that did not cover Every.Single.Possibility. Mea culpa. I find your use of the word "stupid" inapplicable. I said no such thing, nor did I remotely imply it. The question was, "how un-mustachian is this?"

And both of you missed the part where I said I do not shop at places that offer these services, because they cost more. I don't buy Triscuits because they're 50 cents 20% off*. I buy them when Grocery Outlet has them for half off or when the 99 Cents Only Store has them for, yup, 99 cents. Okay, they actually ring up as 99.99 cents.

*Whoops, I conflated the sale on beans with the price reduction on Triscuits. Fixed.

[Dollar Slice]

I find your use of the word "stupid" inapplicable. I said no such thing, nor did I remotely imply it. The question was, "how un-mustachian is this?"

I didn't say YOU used the word stupid. *I* used the word stupid. As in: maybe other people make their grocery lists in a stupid way, such as totally price-blind and not considering sales at all. I can't answer that, I can only tell you how I do it, which is very mustachian (i.e., the cheapest/most efficient way I can).

And both of you missed the part where I said I do not shop at places that offer these services, because they cost more. I don't buy Triscuits because they're 50 cents off. I buy them when Grocery Outlet has them for half off or when the 99 Cents Only Store has them for, yup, 99 cents. Okay, they actually ring up as 99.99 cents,

I'm happy you have that option, but Grocery Outlet is a west coast chain. I've never had a heavily discounted food store like that accessible to me anywhere I've lived as an adult (two major U.S. cities). I'm sure many people haven't. We make do with what we have access to.

I'm not going to post here any more, I'm 100% sure no one wants to read this. Feel free to PM.

[Dicey]

I find your use of the word "stupid" inapplicable. I said no such thing, nor did I remotely imply it. The question was, "how un-mustachian is this?"

I didn't say YOU used the word stupid. *I* used the word stupid. As in: maybe other people make their grocery lists in a stupid way, such as totally price-blind and not considering sales at all. I can't answer that, I can only tell you how I do it, which is very mustachian (i.e., the cheapest/most efficient way I can).

And both of you missed the part where I said I do not shop at places that offer these services, because they cost more. I don't buy Triscuits because they're 50 cents off. I buy them when Grocery Outlet has them for half off or when the 99 Cents Only Store has them for, yup, 99 cents. Okay, they actually ring up as 99.99 cents,

I'm happy you have that option, but Grocery Outlet is a west coast chain. I've never had a heavily discounted food store like that accessible to me anywhere I've lived as an adult (two major U.S. cities). I'm sure many people haven't. We make do with what we have access to.

I'm not going to post here any more, I'm 100% sure no one wants to read this. Feel free to PM.

I'm responding because this topic is not NYC specific. My initial reply was not directed at any one person.  Well, except to answer the OP's very specific question. Not sure why it resonated so poorly with you, but that was not my intention.

Lots of us don't have a Market Basket or an Aldi or Lidl or a Winco or a salvage operation. Sussing out the cheapest stores in your own sphere and using them to maximize one's grocery dollars is advice torn straignt from the Mustachian 101 Handbook. Before that, the Queen of Frugality, Amy Dacyczyn, covered this topic in great detail in her defunct but still relevant Tightwad Gazette.
 

[Villanelle]

HOWEVER...

Every lesson about frugal shopping/feeding a family on a budget begins with figuring out what's on sale and building your menus around that. That's the basic principle that virtually no one mentioned in this thread. It seems that people are making lists of what they want and are ordering that.

I'm not sure how other people make lists. Maybe they do it a stupid way, I don't know. But I find it easier to make frugal shopping lists online since I can look at everything in the store before I start shopping or making a list, instead of going through aisles one by one and trying to plan on the fly. They have sales and coupons and they're all listed online, and they're organized by food type so you can look at the meat sales and vegetable sales and fruit sales and so on.

But my point was that a ton of people responding to the thread said they didn't like it and/or were back to in-store shopping; or had a valid excuse. You made the assumption (with no evidence) that the ones who simply answered the question were all able-bodied and lazy. Maybe they just prefer privacy over volunteering irrelevant medical or family details in a thread about groceries.

I did not "make the assumption (with no evidence)". I wrote a disclaimer that did not cover Every.Single.Possibility. Mea culpa. I find your use of the word "stupid" inapplicable. I said no such thing, nor did I remotely imply it. The question was, "how un-mustachian is this?"

And both of you missed the part where I said I do not shop at places that offer these services, because they cost more. I don't buy Triscuits because they're 50 cents off. I buy them when Grocery Outlet has them for half off or when the 99 Cents Only Store has them for, yup, 99 cents. Okay, they actually ring up as 99.99 cents.

I assume I'm included in that "both", and it seems like you are offended or frustrated with me, and I'm not sure why.  You said:

It seems that people are making lists of what they want and are ordering that.

And I didn't understand why anything in this thread would make you assume that people are doing that, any more than they would if they went to the store.  I pointed out that the place I do my online grocery shopping has sales and coupons, and I absolutley can and do shop partly based on those, since your statement made it seem like you thought that wasn't possible. 

It feels like this has turned into a pissing contest of the morally best way to grocery shop, and I give zero fucks about that, so I'm going to bow out.  None of my posts implied any disprespect.  I've offered counterpoints because I truly don't see grocery delivery as I do it (and I acknowledge there are many ways, so I'm just offering details on one) as "un-mustachian".  So I thought it might be helpful for people to see that maybe their impressions of delivery aren't always accurate.  But I see now that maybe this thread isn't that and that alternative experiences aren't welcomed.  Got it.

Man, grocery delivery suckz.  Those poor suckers who use it are wasteful, don't plan property, and hate mother earth. And they make MMM cry into his generic brand cereal.

[Dicey]

HOWEVER...

Every lesson about frugal shopping/feeding a family on a budget begins with figuring out what's on sale and building your menus around that. That's the basic principle that virtually no one mentioned in this thread. It seems that people are making lists of what they want and are ordering that.

I'm not sure how other people make lists. Maybe they do it a stupid way, I don't know. But I find it easier to make frugal shopping lists online since I can look at everything in the store before I start shopping or making a list, instead of going through aisles one by one and trying to plan on the fly. They have sales and coupons and they're all listed online, and they're organized by food type so you can look at the meat sales and vegetable sales and fruit sales and so on.

But my point was that a ton of people responding to the thread said they didn't like it and/or were back to in-store shopping; or had a valid excuse. You made the assumption (with no evidence) that the ones who simply answered the question were all able-bodied and lazy. Maybe they just prefer privacy over volunteering irrelevant medical or family details in a thread about groceries.

I did not "make the assumption (with no evidence)". I wrote a disclaimer that did not cover Every.Single.Possibility. Mea culpa. I find your use of the word "stupid" inapplicable. I said no such thing, nor did I remotely imply it. The question was, "how un-mustachian is this?"

And both of you missed the part where I said I do not shop at places that offer these services, because they cost more. I don't buy Triscuits because they're 50 cents off. I buy them when Grocery Outlet has them for half off or when the 99 Cents Only Store has them for, yup, 99 cents. Okay, they actually ring up as 99.99 cents.

I assume I'm included in that "both", and it seems like you are offended or frustrated with me, and I'm not sure why.  You said:

It seems that people are making lists of what they want and are ordering that.

And I didn't understand why anything in this thread would make you assume that people are doing that, any more than they would if they went to the store.  I pointed out that the place I do my online grocery shopping has sales and coupons, and I absolutley can and do shop partly based on those, since your statement made it seem like you thought that wasn't possible. 

It feels like this has turned into a pissing contest of the morally best way to grocery shop, and I give zero fucks about that, so I'm going to bow out.  None of my posts implied any disprespect.  I've offered counterpoints because I truly don't see grocery delivery as I do it (and I acknowledge there are many ways, so I'm just offering details on one) as "un-mustachian".  So I thought it might be helpful for people to see that maybe their impressions of delivery aren't always accurate.  But I see now that maybe this thread isn't that and that alternative experiences aren't welcomed.  Got it.

Man, grocery delivery suckz.  Those poor suckers who use it are wasteful, don't plan property, and hate mother earth. And they make MMM cry into his generic brand cereal delicious homemade granola.

FTFY. Geez, lighten up, people! This is the Mr. Money Mustache forum, not Bigger Pockets. There is room for dissenting opinions here.

I keep reading with some degree of skepticism about how "soft" we've gotten here and this seemed like a good example, so I chimed in with, you know, actual life experience, including a disclaimer, which thoughtlessly did not include every single possible exception. Boy, did that blow up in a hurry.

[GuitarStv]

A true mustachian eschews delicious food for subsistence on the marginally cheaper 'non-toxic' variety of consumables.  Why, right now I'm chewing my way through some old playdoh that a neighbour was needlessly and wastefully throwing out with her garbage.

[grantmeaname]

It feels like this has turned into a pissing contest of the morally best way to grocery shop, and I give zero fucks about that, so I'm going to bow out.  None of my posts implied any disprespect.  I've offered counterpoints because I truly don't see grocery delivery as I do it (and I acknowledge there are many ways, so I'm just offering details on one) as "un-mustachian".  So I thought it might be helpful for people to see that maybe their impressions of delivery aren't always accurate.  But I see now that maybe this thread isn't that and that alternative experiences aren't welcomed.  Got it.

There's a difference between "contrasting opinions are unwelcome" and "any opinion has a right not to be disagreed with".

[GilesMM]

A true mustachian eschews delicious food for subsistence on the marginally cheaper 'non-toxic' variety of consumables.  Why, right now I'm chewing my way through some old playdoh that a neighbour was needlessly and wastefully throwing out with her garbage.

Not sure about that but definitely frugality means working the outer edges of the grocery store and only buying fresh produce, dairy, bakery and meat.  No packaged, boxed, canned, jarred or frozen crap from a factory.  Not only do you save a fortune, you will eat healthier and get to enjoy cooking your own food instead of processed and preserved trash.

[Villanelle]

It feels like this has turned into a pissing contest of the morally best way to grocery shop, and I give zero fucks about that, so I'm going to bow out.  None of my posts implied any disprespect.  I've offered counterpoints because I truly don't see grocery delivery as I do it (and I acknowledge there are many ways, so I'm just offering details on one) as "un-mustachian".  So I thought it might be helpful for people to see that maybe their impressions of delivery aren't always accurate.  But I see now that maybe this thread isn't that and that alternative experiences aren't welcomed.  Got it.

There's a difference between "contrasting opinions are unwelcome" and "any opinion has a right not to be disagreed with".

Yes.  which is why I was adding my experience.  And then I was accused of missing something that I didnt miss and that doesn't seem to have anything at all to do with what I posted, which is why it seemed like my explanation that grocery deliver may not quite be what people think wasn't welcome. 

[roomtempmayo]

It's cheaper for me to get groceries delivered via Amazon Fresh than it is to shop at the 2 nearest grocery stores. 

Back on track, and regarding Amazon Fresh.  I just tried to use them last night for a couple items that my local supermarket didn't have in stock, but I got delivery dates from AF and WF that were 2-3 days out.  As recently as a couple months ago, they were offering same day delivery, usually just a couple hours.

Is Amazon giving up on the on-demand grocery delivery market?

[grantmeaname]

More like they're tired of losing so much money in this structurally terrible business, and they're trying to staunch the bleeding, now that the cost of capital is getting more expensive.

[Villanelle]

It's cheaper for me to get groceries delivered via Amazon Fresh than it is to shop at the 2 nearest grocery stores. 

Back on track, and regarding Amazon Fresh.  I just tried to use them last night for a couple items that my local supermarket didn't have in stock, but I got delivery dates from AF and WF that were 2-3 days out.  As recently as a couple months ago, they were offering same day delivery, usually just a couple hours.

Is Amazon giving up on the on-demand grocery delivery market?

I still sometimes have same day, and almost always next day.  (I only look at the free 2 hour windows; the paid 1 hour windows may more frequently be available same-day.)

[LostGirl]

We had a few months of free delivery from Instacart, and the truth is that we REALLY enjoyed it. It sure saves a lot of time, and my wife claims that it prevents her from buying stuff that she doesn't need (I think she's just saying this to bring me along).

We would basically be making one large purchase per week. Has anybody done a thorough analysis of the premium that you pay for using a service like Instacart? My main questions are:
-Is there a price premium on the groceries themselves?
-What perks do you miss out on (in-store sales, loyalty points and discounts, etc.), and what is the impact of this?
-Which service is the most cost effective (instacart vs KingSoopers delivery, etc.) - I am based in Boulder, Colorado.
-Anything else I should add to this list?

Philosophical ramblings about the value of time savings or the value of in-store shopping are also welcome :)

I haven't read the rest of the comments but I've done the Instcart comparison and YES there is more markup from them.  I don't really care about in store perks but I don't use Instcart because the markup, in addition to the fees, is atrocious.

For me, the biggest pain is the online shopping interface because its not like walking to the same spots in the store. So you need to use a list and the search.  I use Whole Foods either delivery or pickup, its pretty close to me and you just park and they bring it.  I've never used Amazon Fresh, always Whole Foods either delivery or pick up so I can't comment on AF. I used to do Safeway as well but you could do any local to you store and they don't charge a premium beyond the fees, if any. 

Another down is the selection of meats and fruits so I usually keep those items pretty basic so I'm not disappointed.